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President Trump on January 12 nominated attorney John F. Ring to serve on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Mr. Ring is currently a partner at the firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius in Washington, D.C., where he leads the firm’s labor and employment practice group.

If he is confirmed, Ring would serve the bulk of a five-year term ending on December 16, 2022. More importantly, if confirmed, he will replace former Board chairman Philip A. Miscimarra, whose term expired last month and whose departure left the Board with a 2-2 deadlock of Republicans and Democrats.

After years of Democratic control in the previous administration, Republicans enjoyed a 3-2 majority on the NLRB for a brief while last fall. That development did lead to several important reversals of Obama-era precedents just before Miscimarra departed, but the current situation has made the prospect of any further meaningful policy shifts doubtful. Ring’s confirmation would restore the 3-2 Republican majority and open the door for the Board to reconsider many other flawed rulings by the Obama NLRB.

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